Just January 2015

Many Januarys are brutal, with constant variation from sub-zero temps and rounds of snow and  digging out.  But not this year!  After a few really frigid days early in the month, Wisconsin got a break (it looks like other parts of the country had Wisconsin weather inadvertently delivered to them!), with a mild month, light snows and moderate (for winter) temperatures.  The only down side was the gloom---very many of those milder days were sunless and dark.  They took advantage of the few sunny days.

In Rudolph, Mark and Hilde decided to just dig in and get things done.  Since the snow was not deep and the ground well-frozen from the earlier cold spells, Mark and Hilde had access to the lowest (wettest) portion of the 17 acres south of the house and all the dead elms which had been out of reach.  Mark cut, trimmed and snaked them out with the ATV, then both loaded the lengths into the truck and brought them out to store on the east lawn.  Come spring they will be cut and stacked for the 2016 syrup season.  While Mark was doing the elm-removal, Hilde had a couple of days trimming the pines by the driveway.  Mark wanted to keep them natural looking, but Hilde felt unobstructed driveway (she was tired of getting twigs stuck under wipers) was better and took that bow saw in hand and got it done.

Lots of paperwork got straightened out this month including 14 years of town zoning info.  Hilde  got two pending and one new craft projects done and Mark has tax papers almost ready for the accountant, which is a great relief.  This year the Christmas tree stayed fresh and didn’t dry out until mid-January, so the decorations and lights helped balanced the gray to white skies—finally took it down on the 24^th, a full 6 weeks of balsam scent and cheerful lights.

It has been a constructive month for the entire family.   Mark has been planning and  preparing for a radon removal project.  Hilde is hoping the concrete cutting will not be a messy as when the basement wall into the  addition was done.  Jim is working on new butcher-block counter tops for their kitchen, while John is re-arranging and installing new cabinets in his place.  Building and fixing are very satisfying hobbies for them all.

Mark and Hilde spent a couple of days in northern Iowa (Mason City and Algona) where he will try a case in April.  January is not a great time to visit over there, but April should be nicer.  The timing for the trip meant Hilde had to rush home after a county board meeting and miss the 8^th (so far!) meeting on Spray Irrigation of Waste, plus a workshop on the new phosphorous rules.  Those topics may not seem appealing, but counties need to make informed decisions on if and when to regulate plus deal with ever-increasing regulations from the state level.  Hilde admits that sitting through all the meetings is surely a pain in the posterior, though.

All in all, January was a fairly quiet, contemplative month, especially after the Packers lost the championship game in OT.  That cast a cloud of gloom over the entire state.  So close to the Superbowl….. However, next year is already here and like this little spruce discovered on the lawn, there’s always the future season.